Vegan chocolate orange pots

Vegan chocolate orange pots

orange chocolate pots for two

First things first. I did say I was getting off sweets for a few weeks, but ahem…what can I say, I’m a weak-willed individual and yes, I did make another dessert…Glad we got that out of the way:)

One of the best things about living in sunny Greece are the amazing oranges. They tend to be smaller and less perfect than the supermarket ones but the taste is unbeatable. They are sweet and juicy hence every cafe on the island sells freshly squeezed orange juice by the bucket loads.

At least once a week, a local farmer with a big truck brimming with oranges pulls up in the main town and sells them dirt cheap. I always buy so many that I wonder if it’s possible to have a vitamin C overdose. They are to die for. If we ever move away from this paradise island, amazing oranges are something I will definitely miss. For now though, I take full advantage of living in amongst orange groves.

This dessert may be small but it packs a punch. It’s a perfect marriage of dark (70% cocoa) chocolate and juicy Greek oranges. If you are an experienced ganache maker, you may be alarmed once I tell you to mix melted chocolate and orange juice as you would not expect that to work, wouldn’t you?

Well, I’ve done a lot of research into ganache making and it appears that ‘water based ganaches’ (orange juice has a high water content too) are all the rage. The trend has been brought about by the increasing numbers of vegans and people who are lactose-intolerant and now several renowned chocolatiers prefer using water based ganaches for their purer, more intense flavour (traditional additions such as cream tend to dull the flavours to an extent).

Since I was after an orange tasting ganache, I went for strained orange juice and a bit of orange of syrup. Despite my initial fears, the ganache turned out to be perfectly smooth and glossy. The key is to take care and do things slowy as chocolate is a delicate beast and it’s easily offended by too much heating up, too little heating up, too much stirring, too vigorous stirring – it’s basically like a cat. It took me many trials and errors to balance the flavour (in fact I ate so much chocolate orange over the past week that I won’t be able to have it for months now, I think).

These vegan chocolate orange pots are rich, creamy, very chocolaty, have a prominent orange flavour and are not too sweet. They used to make me smile (until I ate too many) and I hope they will make those you make them for smile too.

chocolate orange pots top down

freshly squeezed orange juice

chopped chocolate

orange and chocolate

two chocolate orange pots

chocolate orange pots tucking in

chocolate orange pot

makes
4 x 100ml pots
PREP
30 min
COOKING
10 min
makes
4 x 100ml pots
PREPARATION
30 min
COOKING
10 min
INGREDIENTS

  • 1 orange
  • 55 g brown raw cane sugar
  • ½ vanilla pod
  • 200 g dark (70% cocoa) chocolate
  • 80 ml orange juice (from about 2 oranges), strained (at room temperature)
  • 80 ml water (at room temperature) + ¼ cup for the syrup
METHOD
  1. First, we need to prepare orange syrup. Wash one orange, cut into slices. Put into a pot with ¼ cup of water, brown sugar and ½ vanilla pod. Cover and cook on the lowest setting for 30 min or so until you get thin, orange-infused syrup to sweeten the ganache with. Set aside.
  2. Slowly melt the chocolate over a water bath (water should not touch the glass bowl with chocolate). Once melted, remove from heat, but keep the bowl with chocolate over the hot water. Start adding orange juice tablespoon by tablespoon. If chocolate mixture seizes (it gets thick and grainy), slowly add the rest of the juice and keep on mixing gently. It will eventually return to its smooth runny state. Then slowly mix in 80 ml of water, pouring it in gradually.
  3. Stir in 55 ml (it will be pretty much all the syrup you made, but still measure the correct quantity out) of the orange syrup you made earlier.
  4. Pour the ganache into 4 pots. Leave it to cool to room temperature and then into a fridge for 2-3 hours for the ganache to set.
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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
332
17%
sugars
33 g
36%
fats
18 g
26%
saturates
12 g
61%
proteins
6 g
13%
carbs
43 g
17%
*per pot
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5.0
3 reviews, 13 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Simon Youdan:
Can you prepare these a day early?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Sure you can!
Franco:
Your blog is amazing...the the taste of this recipe is mindblowing...my only query is the ganache is very thin and its setting but not as ganache...what should i do ?..should i add more melted chocolate n see? Or u have some alternative for it.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Franco,
    Thanks, I am pleased to hear that you enjoy my blog :) That's very odd, are you sure you are not judging this too early? It starts off quite runny but it should set as a thick and creamy ganche - like in the video within this recipe. If you are certain that it is not going to set, yes, more chocolate would save it or adding some coconut oil. Hope that helps! Ania
Jordan:
Loved it! My chocolate did seize once, but I followed your directions and it still turned out great!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you! I'm delighted to hear that, Jordan! :) Ania
Nida:
Maybe I did something wrong, but mine didn't turn out so well. Not a smooth chocolate and very thick. My spoon stayed upright in the chocolate :-)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Nida,
    I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds like your chocolate might have seized perhaps? It might have overheated, for example. I'm happy to to help you troubleshoot, but I do need more details from you! How did you melt your chocolate? Did you use a double boiler or a microwave for example? At which point did the chocolate get thick? What did you try to remedy this? Did adding more liquid and whisking not help? Thanks, Ania
Severien:
Hi Ania, these do look really delicious! I was wondering if you have tried to make them with less sugar as well? The chocolate and orange are rather sweet already, I would try without or with less sugar, but maybe you have tried and not liked it? Thanks, Severien
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Severien,
    Thanks so much. I haven't tried making them without sugar, but I suspect they won't be very nice without any sugar at all. Having said that it really depends on how much of a sweet tooth you have ;) so worth trying. Perhaps halve the amount of sugar first and take it from there. Good luck! Ania
Catherine:
Your photos are amazing! Thanks for the recipe!!!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you, Catherine! Hope you like the pots.
Evi @ greenevi:
Oh my goodness! Is it real? And is it really vegan? It looks incredible and I am dying to try one of these pots now!
    Ania
    Ania:
    ha ha, yes, they are real. I made them several times (6, I think) with different ratios of orange juice, water and syrup and they came out great each time. Let me know how you find them!
Levan @ MyWifeMakes.com:
Dang, Ania!!! We love oranges (We actually used them in two of our recent recipes) because they are so versatile and taste GREAT! We're thinking of using orange-infused olive oil in our next recipe too. Loving your recipes and your photos. What a wonderful stumble! Treasure trove of super well-photographed recipes.
Great to connect Ania!
Levan
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Levan, so pleased to hear that you like the blog. Always great to meet a like-minded (and cat-loving) person! I will check out your upcoming orange-infused recipe, for sure!
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